ROAR FOR FOUR
School Pride- It is when you get excited to see a game or a competition where your school is one of the participants to the point that you cannot sleep the night before. You prepare the next day only to see yourself with the rest of your friends wait for one of your companions for two staggering hours. Peace. You then go to the venue and watch the competition even if your feet are aching due to the unavailability of seats. You cheer on top of your lungs with the rest of the crowd. You raise your fist and pride.
Yes. Maybe today was school pride at its best. I have been anticipating the 2005 Cheer Dance Competition the whole season. We got the tickets the moment the distributor started selling them in Araneta big thanks to my classmates who went there just to save our asses from ticket extinction.
Cheering is such a big deal for UST. Yes, UST has won the most General Championships in the history of UAAP but all UAAP sports are not televised except for Basketball. For the past three years, Santo Tomas has not shown what Tiger Power is all about in Men’s Basketball. We looked like kittens. But every time the Salinggawi and the Yellow Jackets victor in the CDC, the Thomasians (and the ASPIRING Thomasians) think that the win is already enough to compensate for the poor showing of the Tigers in basketball and for retribution. That just goes to explain while UST has one of the largest crowd turnout in the CDC.
Last year, I was contented watching the competition in the comfort of our sala. But this year is different. I, together with the rest of my friends decided to see the competition live- in flesh. We agreed to meet at Goldilock’s at 11 AM today. I came in 20 minutes late. But lo and behold, the bunch is still not complete even if many of us have come straight from English practice. Bangge was still not there. To make matters worse, she has Jenny’s ticket. Bangge arrived almost two hours later. Miscommunication. I refuse to elaborate.
We hurried to Araneta. Outside Araneta, many still took their chance if they can get tickets even from scalpers. Inside Araneta was where the action was. It was filled to the rafters. Any claustrophobic would not dare go in. There were no more seats available. No more balloons, too. Had I known that there were no more seats for the taking, I would have had taken a seat during our LRT ride. My legs ached from my non-stop jumping and cheering.
Anticipation for UST’s performance was enjoyable because many squads stepped-up their routines this season.
1 ½ hours later, it was UST’s turn. The crowd went wild. ‘Gawi’s Non-Stop cheer was hair-raising. It will take a long time for me to forget how the audience was screaming and shouting, how the Yellow Jackets beat their percussions, how that black cloth covered almost the whole of the court, how the SDT performed the cheer. It was like being in Brazil for the Carnival. It was magical.
Waiting for the results was nerve-racking. You can just feel the tension and anxiety among the audience from the different participating schools. FEU was third. The moment UP was declared 2nd, the UST pack just went crazy. Based on the Mapua cheering experience, I was scared that another school might snatch the victory from UST and we had just made fools of ourselves by expecting that we had won and by celebrating that early.
Thank GOD, UST SDT & YJ was able to ROAR FOR FOUR!!
The margin was not great. But I know the whole Thomasian Community will take it.
The stunts performed by UST during the school cheer part may not be as creative or as extravagant as that of UP’s or FEU’s, but they were synchronized. The Non-Stop cheer part was no competition. UST had it in the bag.
If I were to judge the 7 other teams based on what was most pleasing to me to the team that pleased me the least, things would have turn out this way:
2nd Place- FEU. This is the second time that I think that FEU is more deserving than UP to grab that 2nd place finish. I think that their school cheer part was the most creative. They had one stunt similar to that of UST- when they formed 4 groups then used their cheerers for an early “exchange gift”. Their non-stop cheer however was mediocre.
3rd Place- UP. Surprise, surprise, they did not go for the velvet costume this year. Nonetheless, the UP Pep Squad remains great. I am sure that had they been successful converting that one stunt they failed to convert, they would have stopped UST’s winning streak. Their Non-Stop cheer was amazing with all the booty-shaking they did and their costume ala Tina Turner.
4th Place- Adamson. They were almost synchronized, almost amazing, almost in the Top 3.
5th Place- DLSU. There was news spreading that the choreographer of DLSU for this season was a former member of the UST SDT- no wonder they have improved a lot. I also liked the fact that the boys spent more time dancing this time. I cannot see them from where I was standing but something tells me that DLSU boys, with all their heads shaved, are cute.
6th Place- NU. They had one very big mistake. I love the underdogs that’s why I placed them here. I also like the stripes in their costumes. They looked like bees/ peanut butter.
7th Place- UE. Their stunts were undeniably fantastic. They specialize in ballet, gymnastics and street. But something tells me the reason why they had different stunts for different groups was not because they had different specializations but because they cannot do it the synchronized way.
8th Place- ADMU BBB. No offense meant for the only team which had their female cheerers wear skirts (OP?). Maybe it was the pressure of going first that got the best of them. But what I loved most about this team was the flair of their percussionists- they were a sight to behold. Bring back the fat lady front liner and make her do the belly dance again!!
All in all, it was an enjoyable (understatement) show. Capoeira seemed to be the biggest trend this season. UST started the trend last year. Next year, I have to think hard whether I’ll see the competition live. The atmosphere there was just crazy but jumping and screaming was just too exhausting. At least at home, I can enjoy the show sitting down. But the problem is, I’d be the only to cheer for UST. I do not know if I can get lola, ate Agnes, and itoy to also root for Santo Tomas.
Go find your princes while I find my frog!! God bless us all!!
P.S. Survivor Guatemala is now being telecast by Studio 23 every Friday at 1 pm and at 8 pm. Aside from the new castaways (there are a new bunch of cuties and hotties this season- for girls and boys and the pretending to be of course.), Bobby John (who gained some weight) and Stepehnie from Survivor Palau are back to play. We’ll just see how the two figure out in the coming episodes. As for the premier, Stepehenie who is playing for Yaxha eneded her losing streak as her team won the first Immunity challenge. Bobby John who is playing for Nakum, got seriously dehydrated after their first Reward Challenge which was a 24-hour jungle race. Jim, the old man from Nakum was the first castaway to be sent packing.
Yes. Maybe today was school pride at its best. I have been anticipating the 2005 Cheer Dance Competition the whole season. We got the tickets the moment the distributor started selling them in Araneta big thanks to my classmates who went there just to save our asses from ticket extinction.
Cheering is such a big deal for UST. Yes, UST has won the most General Championships in the history of UAAP but all UAAP sports are not televised except for Basketball. For the past three years, Santo Tomas has not shown what Tiger Power is all about in Men’s Basketball. We looked like kittens. But every time the Salinggawi and the Yellow Jackets victor in the CDC, the Thomasians (and the ASPIRING Thomasians) think that the win is already enough to compensate for the poor showing of the Tigers in basketball and for retribution. That just goes to explain while UST has one of the largest crowd turnout in the CDC.
Last year, I was contented watching the competition in the comfort of our sala. But this year is different. I, together with the rest of my friends decided to see the competition live- in flesh. We agreed to meet at Goldilock’s at 11 AM today. I came in 20 minutes late. But lo and behold, the bunch is still not complete even if many of us have come straight from English practice. Bangge was still not there. To make matters worse, she has Jenny’s ticket. Bangge arrived almost two hours later. Miscommunication. I refuse to elaborate.
We hurried to Araneta. Outside Araneta, many still took their chance if they can get tickets even from scalpers. Inside Araneta was where the action was. It was filled to the rafters. Any claustrophobic would not dare go in. There were no more seats available. No more balloons, too. Had I known that there were no more seats for the taking, I would have had taken a seat during our LRT ride. My legs ached from my non-stop jumping and cheering.
Anticipation for UST’s performance was enjoyable because many squads stepped-up their routines this season.
1 ½ hours later, it was UST’s turn. The crowd went wild. ‘Gawi’s Non-Stop cheer was hair-raising. It will take a long time for me to forget how the audience was screaming and shouting, how the Yellow Jackets beat their percussions, how that black cloth covered almost the whole of the court, how the SDT performed the cheer. It was like being in Brazil for the Carnival. It was magical.
Waiting for the results was nerve-racking. You can just feel the tension and anxiety among the audience from the different participating schools. FEU was third. The moment UP was declared 2nd, the UST pack just went crazy. Based on the Mapua cheering experience, I was scared that another school might snatch the victory from UST and we had just made fools of ourselves by expecting that we had won and by celebrating that early.
Thank GOD, UST SDT & YJ was able to ROAR FOR FOUR!!
The margin was not great. But I know the whole Thomasian Community will take it.
The stunts performed by UST during the school cheer part may not be as creative or as extravagant as that of UP’s or FEU’s, but they were synchronized. The Non-Stop cheer part was no competition. UST had it in the bag.
If I were to judge the 7 other teams based on what was most pleasing to me to the team that pleased me the least, things would have turn out this way:
2nd Place- FEU. This is the second time that I think that FEU is more deserving than UP to grab that 2nd place finish. I think that their school cheer part was the most creative. They had one stunt similar to that of UST- when they formed 4 groups then used their cheerers for an early “exchange gift”. Their non-stop cheer however was mediocre.
3rd Place- UP. Surprise, surprise, they did not go for the velvet costume this year. Nonetheless, the UP Pep Squad remains great. I am sure that had they been successful converting that one stunt they failed to convert, they would have stopped UST’s winning streak. Their Non-Stop cheer was amazing with all the booty-shaking they did and their costume ala Tina Turner.
4th Place- Adamson. They were almost synchronized, almost amazing, almost in the Top 3.
5th Place- DLSU. There was news spreading that the choreographer of DLSU for this season was a former member of the UST SDT- no wonder they have improved a lot. I also liked the fact that the boys spent more time dancing this time. I cannot see them from where I was standing but something tells me that DLSU boys, with all their heads shaved, are cute.
6th Place- NU. They had one very big mistake. I love the underdogs that’s why I placed them here. I also like the stripes in their costumes. They looked like bees/ peanut butter.
7th Place- UE. Their stunts were undeniably fantastic. They specialize in ballet, gymnastics and street. But something tells me the reason why they had different stunts for different groups was not because they had different specializations but because they cannot do it the synchronized way.
8th Place- ADMU BBB. No offense meant for the only team which had their female cheerers wear skirts (OP?). Maybe it was the pressure of going first that got the best of them. But what I loved most about this team was the flair of their percussionists- they were a sight to behold. Bring back the fat lady front liner and make her do the belly dance again!!
All in all, it was an enjoyable (understatement) show. Capoeira seemed to be the biggest trend this season. UST started the trend last year. Next year, I have to think hard whether I’ll see the competition live. The atmosphere there was just crazy but jumping and screaming was just too exhausting. At least at home, I can enjoy the show sitting down. But the problem is, I’d be the only to cheer for UST. I do not know if I can get lola, ate Agnes, and itoy to also root for Santo Tomas.
Go find your princes while I find my frog!! God bless us all!!
P.S. Survivor Guatemala is now being telecast by Studio 23 every Friday at 1 pm and at 8 pm. Aside from the new castaways (there are a new bunch of cuties and hotties this season- for girls and boys and the pretending to be of course.), Bobby John (who gained some weight) and Stepehnie from Survivor Palau are back to play. We’ll just see how the two figure out in the coming episodes. As for the premier, Stepehenie who is playing for Yaxha eneded her losing streak as her team won the first Immunity challenge. Bobby John who is playing for Nakum, got seriously dehydrated after their first Reward Challenge which was a 24-hour jungle race. Jim, the old man from Nakum was the first castaway to be sent packing.
posted by queen of the blogs at 11:50 PM
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